The Trump administration just called Canada's steel industry a national security threat

A prominent US trade representative is doubling down on the Trump administration’s assertion that Canada’s steel industry is a “national security threat.”

On Tuesday, Robert Lighthizer faced a series of questions from a US senate committee regarding Trump’s attitude towards towards tariffs and the impact of retaliatory tariffs from countries like Canada on US goods.

According to a report by CTV’s Ottawa bureau, the issue came to a head when Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed asked Lighthizer to specifically explain how Canada posed a threat to US national security.

“This is a country who has been with us every step of the way,” Reed said. “Are they a national security threat to the United States?” he said.

He quickly followed up with his remark that “nobody” is declaring war on Canada, though.

“They’re a great ally and certainly one of America’s closest friends and closest trading partners,” he said. “But if you decide that you need to protect an industry, you can’t be in a position where the protection is of no value.”

“The numbers are clear: The United States has a $2 billion US dollars surplus in steel trade with Canada – and Canada buys more American steel than any other country in the world, half of US steel exports.”

Trudeau added that Canada is a secure supplier of aluminum and steel to the US defence industry, “putting aluminum in American planes and steel in American tanks.”